The Celebrated Life

For several weeks now, my dear friend Millie Hahn and I have been discussing starting a business together. We have similar aesthetics and drive and complementary skills and talents. Most importantly, we both have a passion for parties.

This weekend was our first joint venture. We threw a baby shower for our friend Elizabeth and I have to say I think it was a beautiful success.

Our Inspiration:

The invitation:

The gorgeous cake with custom cake bunting.

The set up:

After we enjoyed cake and presents, we all make custom onesies for the new addition using heat transfer paper and fun fabrics.

The finished products:

Cookie favors which hung by the door for guests to pick up on their way out.

I think we make a great (AND CUTE!) team.

Griffin-palooza

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I took a picture of Griffin every day for the first year of his life. I've been struggling with what to do with them now that the first year is behind us. I finally decided to let them speak for themselves. :)

Griffin 365 from hollandnm on Vimeo.

Busy Weekend

We had a very exciting Labor Day weekend. We went from one fun party to the next with lots of food, friends, and family in between. (I feel like food, friends, and family should be the name of this blog.)

First, we went to Mr. Luke Braboy's 2nd birthday party. The party was all about sports and we had to dress appropriately. There were lots of sports-themed food and games. Cookie cake was had, which really what else do you need to know if there is cookie cake involved. ;)

After the party, we drove to the lake and spent the night with the Skidmore crew (plus a few additions). We had s'mores by the fire that night and pancakes the next morning for breakfast.

On Sunday, we drove to Berea, Ky, for the wedding of my dear friends Amy Hille and Will Glasscock. I met Amy and Will while interning for Congressman Ben Chandler during the summer of 2005. I became very good friends with Amy over the years in DC and I couldn't be happier for both of them.

The wedding was pure magic. My favorite weddings are the most personal, where you see the bride and groom in every detail. I have to say this wedding was one of the best I've ever been to in that respect. I told Amy afterwards that I felt like, in a way, I knew them even better then I did before the wedding.

One of my favorite details was the dessert table. Amy had friends and family bake homemade pies for everyone to enjoy. Not only were they delicious, but I love that every bite was filled with love and well-wishes.

It truly was one of the most magical evenings and I felt like my heart was about to burst with happiness for them the entire night.

On Iraq

Spring 2003
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

This is a picture of me and my college roommates watching the invasion of Iraq. My roommate Erin remembers me taking this picture and saying, "We are going to regret this."

I desperately wish I had been wrong.

Over 4,000 Americans and 100,000 Iraqis have lost their lives in the war. There were no weapons of mass destruction and, while Saddam Hussein being gone is a very good thing, Iran and Afghanistan are bigger threats then if we had never stepped foot in Iraq.

The official combat mission is over but there is no victory to celebrate. No ticker tape parades or banner headlines. Only another geopolitical hotspot where an American presence will remain long after we are all gone.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!!!

This happens a lot. Griffin comes crawling out of his room with a book. Well, crawling isn't quite accurate. He pushes/slides on the book he wants you to read the whole time yelling "boooooooook!"

It's pretty much the best thing ever.

Mrs. Braboy's Shower

My dear friend Marie Braboy is welcoming a little girl into her family this October. Now, this is the first baby girl in our group in several years. We were all itching to get our hands on lots of frilly, pink presents and Marie gave us the excuse we needed!

Marie teaches kindergarten so I thought a school house "g is for girl" theme would be just perfect for the baby shower!

My crafty cohost Amy Chesnut made the amazing cupcake topiaries AND little minicupcakes that looked like apples!

For favors, Amy and I painted coffee mugs with chalkboard paint then personalized them with everyone's names. Amy also ordered "g is for girl" pink pencils!

For our craft time, we all made several pages for a special scrapbook for Baby Addison.

Brunch

My dear friend Elizabeth and her family stopped off for brunch on their way home from the beach. Griffin and I got to visit and they got to stretch their legs. A good arrangement all around.

How To Be Alone

As an only child, alone has always been a comfortable place for me. However, this enchanting portrait makes even the only child inside of me see alone in a beautiful new light.

Our First Family Vacation

Our first family vacation to Fripp Island, South Carolina, was a roaring success. We can't thank the Staffords enough for welcoming us into their gorgeous island home. We frolicked, relaxed, read, played, swam, ate, laughed, and had a completely wonderful time. There are so many memories I want to remember here is but a small selection.

I want to remember the glee on Griffin's face when he crawled into the waves for the first time.

I want to remember how good it feels to laugh with old friends.

I want to remember lazy mornings spent reading and talking (with a bit of Just Dance for good measure) while the babies napped.

I want to remember the intense awe and gratitude I felt riding my bike across the marsh in the morning sunlight.

I want to remember the mussels so good I wanted to go swimming in the left over sauce.

I want to remember how much fun we had playing Monopoly Deal.

I want to remember how special it was to watch Kathleen and Griffin play together.

I want to remember all the beautiful wildlife on the island.

I want to remember Griffin's face when he took his first three steps in a row!

I want to remember everything.

Genius!

Happy Birthday to me!

I have had the most wonderful birthday. Thanks for asking!

Now, last year I took the Bar on my birthday. So, pretty much anything was going to be a step up. :) But thanks to my husband and wonderful friends and family it was better than just not-the-Bar.

I woke up this morning to find Happy Birthday banners all over the house. It was just too adorable and I kept them all day long. I went to breakfast with my grandmother, which was fun, and then did a little shopping.

No birthday is complete without a trip to Surplus City.

For lunch, I got to go to Domino's and make my own pizza! Nicholas and I met the owner at a country club event a few months back. I mentioned my pizza problem and my new year's resolution to give up delivery pizza. Well, he said I could come down and make my own pizza anytime and then it wouldn't count as delivery!

I've done really good and have only had pizza once a month (except for June) so it was so fun to reward myself with this special treat. I put spinach, tomato, and feta on one side and the tiniest amount of pepperoni on the other. It was delicious!!!

I had a relaxing pedicure in the afternoon and then we had some friends and family over for cake and ice cream this evening. My dear friend Millie made me a GORGEOUS birthday cake which delicious to boot.

I really felt like the luckiest girl in the world all day.

Exactly how you should feel on your birthday. :)

Chuck E. Cheese

Last night our summer play group had our final gathering at Chuck E. Cheese. This was Griffin's first trip to the Cheese and he had a fantastic time. He squealed with delight on all the little car rides. He took several trips on everyone and was ecstatic the entire time.

A Week in the Life